IPL 2021 Auctions – Aaron Finch looking for 9th IPL Team: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday announced their released and retention list for the impending IPL 2021 season and the Bengaluru-based franchise released 10 players, the most by any franchise. Notably, the released players’ list includes Aaron Finch, who played 12 matches last season, scoring 268 runs with just one half-century score.
Interestingly, Finch will now be looking for a ninth IPL team and if he finds one then he will become the first player in the history of the Indian Premier League to feature for as many as 9 franchises.
IPL: Aaron Finch has so far played for eight different franchises – A unique record
Finch has played in 10 seasons of IPL so far and he has featured prominently for teams who have featured in the tournament as well as those that are now defunct.
The Australian captain made his IP debut in the 2010 season, where he represented the inaugural champions, Rajasthan Royals. He then moved to the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils whom he represented for two seasons in 2011 and 2012. In IPL 2013, Finch was part of the Sahara Pune Warriors before once again making the shift to another franchise, which was the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2014. The Australian shifted to the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2015 and won the title with them in the same year.
Finch was part of the Gujarat Lions’ franchise in IPL 2016 and IPL 2017 as these two new sides, along with Rising Pune Supergiant replaced Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings who were banned for two years.
In 2018, Finch was bought for INR 6.2 Crore by the Kings XI Punjab team which was his seventh team. Finch opted out of the 2019 edition in order to prepare himself for the 50-over World Cup, while in the IPL 2020 auctions, Finch was picked by the Virat Kohl-led Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Finch’s IPL journey
Finch’s IPL journey
| Year | Team |
| 2010 | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2011 | Delhi Daredevils |
| 2012 | Delhi Daredevils |
| 2013 | Pune Warriors India |
| 2014 | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 2015 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2016 | Gujarat Lions |
| 2017 | Gujarat Lions |
| 2018 | Kings XI Punjab |
| 2020 | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
IPL: Indian players to play for numerous franchises
Dinesh Karthik, Ishant Sharma and Parthiv Patel are the Indian players who have played for the most teams in IPL.
Dinesh Karthik, who has donned six different IPL jerseys, started his IPL career with the Delhi Capitals from 2008 to 2010. He moved to the Kings XI Punjab franchise in 2011 but he moved to Mumbai Indians for the next two editions. In 2014, Karthik returned to Delhi Daredevils but after a poor season, opted to play for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Karthik was an integral member of the Gujarat Lions team while he arrived in Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018 and he has been there since.
Ishant Sharma has also played for six franchises, starting with Kolkata Knight Riders and playing in Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Ishant also played for Rising Pune Supergiant before moving to the Kings XI Punjab team in 2018. In IPL 2019, he became part of the Delhi Capitals side.
Parthiv Patel has also represented six different teams. He started his career with the Chennai Super Kings and he went on to play for Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 2014, Patel moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore but his next three years were fruitful with the Mumbai Indians. Parthiv returned to RCB in 2018. However, the wicket-keeper batsman announced hi retirement from all forms of cricket after IPL 2020, meaning that he won’t play in IPL again.